In Pursuit of Refuge
by Lady Stegalkin
Summary: Liliel has experienced little more than danger and disappointment in all her years of life. It's no wonder that the attack she experiences before her 5th year almost pushes her over the edge, driving the pain of those memories to the forefront of her mind. During the attack, she saves a little girl and her brother, leading their family to have an unprecedented interest in her life.


**Warnings:**This is the AU of AU's. I have literally used my creative licensing privileges to revamp a lot of the concepts within this Universe, while still keeping a few of the key plot points. If you do not like AU's, do not read this. If you do not like change, do not read this. Really if you see a tag you don't like, listed as a tag above, odds are, it, or he, or she will be featured prominently enough in the story for it to be a sore point with you as a reader. If you see a tag you definitely can't stomach or sit through while waiting for the action to hit, please don't click on my story.

**Major Changes:**I'll say it now; Harry Potter is Liliel Calia Potter. Hogwarts has been revamped a bit as well. I'm taking Hogwarts to be High School, and everyone in my country goes to High School at around 11 – 13. In this story, children get their Hogwarts letters at 12, so Liliel is 16 in 5th year. I'm also adding some classes. There will be OC's in this story, who will play bigger parts than some canon characters! There will be betrayal, there will be in depth analyzing of dark and light magic!

**NB:**This is an introduction chapter, so it's a little short. The other subsequent chapters are longer, but I didn't want to put too much too quickly in the first chapter, because I didn't want to rush the OC Introduction, or rush the delivery of any of the additional information I'm planning on introducing.

**Disclaimer:**The Harry Potter Universe and all the related elements belong to JK Rowling. The memory of Lily Potter begging Voldemort not to kill her son is directly taken from the Harry Potter Wiki, on Lily Potter's Page.

**_Bold plus Italics represents Parseltongue or familiar speech._**

"_Italics in quotation symbolize speech in a flashback."_

_Plain Italics symbolize flashback details._

**Chapter One - Nightmares**

"_Kill the spare!"_

Nothing but those words echoed in her nightmares, haunting her every waking moment. Those words had ripped away any sense of normalcy, miniscule as it was that she may have had in her life. Those words continued to reinforce her family's claims. Aunt Petunia, household caregiver for her husband and son, held nothing but disdain for her niece, and her frequently voiced claims were now also the claims of the Ministry.

"_She's a delinquent! Always has been a troubled, dishonest, attention seeking child!"_

Tom Riddle's orders had ruined two lives – while devastating countless others, and while she may have had a chance to live again, nothing could be salvaged from the other, and nothing could keep the words from echoing in her subconscious like a broken record on repeat.

She'd hoped to receive letters from her friends, and what little family she'd had left in an errant Godfather, but that hadn't been the case at all. The lack of correspondence had left her forlorn, and led to her wandering the neighborhood at all hours, her magic seeking release and her mind seeking immediate distraction.

Hesitance, brought forth only by memories of second year, was the only thing that prevented her from blasting apart the park where she'd never been given the opportunity to live or play. Feeling an almost overwhelming urge to sit on the bare, rusty swing in front of her, she sat in the curved leather, swinging her legs experimentally after lifting them off the ground.

This would probably never compare to flying, and how could it, when flying took you soaring to heights of over a hundred feet and this little swing would probably take you six feet off the ground at most.

She knew this, had known it before she'd even sat down, but the overwhelming surge of emotion she felt in that moment, because yes, this was _normal_, and yes this was childhood, and no, she didn't have to be more than she was, she just had to**be**, caused her to break down.

She hadn't cried like this since she was a toddler, because back then, it hadn't done her any good. Crying led to her being locked up. Excessive crying after being locked up usually resulted in punishment. Telling others had never really worked out during past situations, so the idea of approaching them now that she was older had never even crossed her mind, let alone been attempted.

Hermione's blind faith in figures of authority and Ron's lack of emotional maturity and tact made discussing her troubled home life difficult. Hermione, sympathetic as she may have been during any brief conversations that may have come up about it before, believed that Dumbledore must have a valid reason for returning her every summer to her relatives, and always told her not to worry.

Ron, on the other hand, who still had occasional bouts of jealousy and rage, was still of the opinion that she had a far better life than he did, poor as he was. Nothing she said could convince him that she'd trade places with him in a heartbeat. Yes, his mother was overbearing, and the twins could be both annoying and terrifying, and the entire family could be quite embarrassing when they wanted to be but they were _family,_and family would always be more than simple blackmailed relatives could ever hope to be.

A slight chill, slowly creeping up her spine is what broke her from her reverie. The weather always dipped during the summer, and though rainy days were few and far between, they did occur. The chill though, it didn't usually get this cold unless it was at least autumn, and something about it felt unnatural in a sense.

It reminded her of the dementors at Hogwarts that had plagued her throughout the entire previous school year. She instinctively grasped her wand and slipped out of the swings, ridding her cheeks of the tear stains from earlier before glancing around the park.

She couldn't see the ever present fog that seemed to accompany a dementor's presence and that made the situation all the more tense. Producing a full bodied Patronus since that night during 4th year had been every kind of impossible, so she was understandably nervous.

She let out a small breath she hadn't known she was holding in, her arms tensing slightly when her breath immediately turned to vapour, and she whipped around, glancing behind her for the telltale sign of the dementors, coming up empty handed once more.

"The effects of the dementors don't necessarily have a range, but I suppose in such a heavily populated area, the range would extend."

She hesitated for a few seconds before slipping up the hood of her sweatshirt, sliding both of her hands into her pocket while maintaining a firm grip on her wand. Leaving it behind was a habit of her outside of classes during 1st and 2nd year, but ever since the whole Sirius debacle, she never went anywhere without it.

Laughter from around the corner made her jolt slightly, and she realized that without meaning to, she'd become distracted. The little girl that had bounced around the corner didn't look like she was older than 13, 14 at most, and she was completely unfamiliar. Not like that was saying much, because when she wasn't completely consumed by chores, she was locked away inside.

"Callum, stop slouching! It's so cold I think it might snow today!"

She hadn't even noticed the other figure, and she mentally made a note to brush up on her observation skills. He snorted in response to her laughter, bopping her on the back of her head with the edge the book he was carrying.

"It's July Maya. If it snows while we're here, I'll eat my own arm."

Maya swatted at his book with the pouch that was slung over her shoulder, spinning once of her feet to reprimand him, but she paused mid-step, glancing up at the two figures that were hovering behind her brother.

Liliel had glanced away from the pair during their playful banter, almost choking on her own breath when she imagined herself having an equally close relationship with Dudley. She wasn't prepared for the sudden onslaught of emotions, nor was she prepared for the memories that accompanied them.

"_Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead —"_

_"This is my last warning —"_

She hadn't noticed that she'd fallen to the floor until she felt the damp earth beneath her fingers, and she slipped her wand out of her pocket, her hand shaking with every movement. She'd always felt weak around dementors, like they were sapping the very energy that gave her life from her body.

She tightened her grip around her wand and held it up towards the dementors that by now were advancing upon the other two people within the park.

"_Powering the Patronus Charm requires utmost concentration on your happiest memory. Distraction causes the Patronus to fade, no matter the strength of the memory."_

"Expecto Patronum!"

She hissed under her breath when nothing more than a wisp of silver light was produced by her wand. She was feeling extremely disappointed and surprisingly grateful, both emotions fighting for dominance in the pit of her stomach. The gratefulness won the battle, especially when the dementors turned their attention to her. At least they weren't focused on the others anymore.

_"Not Harry!"_

The onslaught of emotions and memories only intensified, the closer the dementors got, and she shivered as the ever present chill surrounded her.

"_Please ... have mercy ... Not Harry!"_

"Stop it! I hate seeing my mother like this!"

"_Please — I'll do anything…"_

"Stop! Just stop it! Expecto Patronum!"

The silvery stag burst forth from her wand, the light bursting forth from the large figure, driving the dementors away from the desolately quiet park clearing. Her grip on her wand grew slack as she slumped on the ground, the haunting memories overwhelming her completely.

Maya had been frozen since the arrival of the two creatures, her hands clenched in the front of her brother's trench coat. She released him immediately when the older girl collapsed, hesitating for only a moment before rushing over to her side.

"Cal! Callum! She's not moving! She's passing out!"

That was the last thing Liliel heard before she blacked out completely.


End file.
